Past Lectures

Fall 2016 Lectures

Dr. Adrian D. Pantoja, is Senior Analyst for Latino Decisions and Professor of Political Studies and Chicano Studies at Pitzer College, a member of the Claremont Colleges. He received his B.A. from the University of San Francisco and Ph.D. in Political Science from the Claremont Graduate University. Adrian is a leading expert in Latino public opinion and voting patterns and his academic research is published in over three-dozen journals and edited volumes. He has delivered nearly one hundred presentations at public forums. He has offered expert commentary on Latino politics to The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Time, The Christian Science Monitor, The Huffington Post, National Public Radio, La Opinion and many other news outlets.

The 2009 military coup in Honduras cemented the Central American nation as a hotbed of human rights abuses, the new frontier in the US-led War on Drugs, and an all‐out plunder of national territory and resources.

Those who resist are targeted and killed with a level of impunity unheard of in the 21st century in Latin America; the March 2nd assassination of beloved Indigenous leader Berta Cáceres is an example of state crime and impunity amongst many. Those who head North are often sent back to the very violence and poverty from which they fled. The heart of the crisis is the US policies of militarization, the legitimization of a brutal Honduran State, and the promotion of crony capitalism. For the Honduran people, the results are violent and devastating, but their inspiring resistance continues.

Gloria Rolando recently premiered her new film "Dialogo con mi Abuela (Dialogue with My Grandmother). Gloria Rolando has extensive film work on the African and Caribbean roots of Cuban culture and has addressed important events of Cuban history, such as Oggun: An Eternal Presence, about Cuban Yoruba singer Lazaro Ros; My Footsteps in Baragua, a recounting of the history of a West Indian community in Cuba; Eyes of the Rainbow, a documentary on Assata Shakur, the case of the massacre of the Independents of Color. In 2014, Rolando premiered Reembarque (Reshipment), which focuses on the process of repatriation of Haitian immigrants who were brought to Cuba as cheap labor to work for the sugar industry.

This time, Gloria Roland approaches her own family history, starting with the close relationship she had with her grandmother, Inocencia; a testimonial narrative (told in first person) that brings us closer to the everyday life of Cuban women of African descent.

Gloria Rolando's career as film director spans over 35 years at ICAIC, the Cuban national film institute. She heads an independent film-making group, Imágenes del Caribe, based in Havana.

Spring 2016 Lectures

Rev. Dr. Gary Mason directs a conflict transformation organization based in Belfast called "Rethinking conflict." Prior to this Gary spent 27 years as a Methodist clergy person in Belfast and has played an integral role in the Northern Irish peace process. He played a key role in establishing the Skainos project which is a world class urban center developed in a post conflict society as a model of co-existence and shared space, it is acknowledged as the largest faith-based redevelopment project in Western Europe.

Mason is a close advisor to Protestant ex-combatants on the civilianization efforts of paramilitaries. He was instrumental in facilitating negotiations with paramilitaries and government officials, and in 2007 his contribution was formally recognized by the Queen.

Fall 2015 Lectures

November 17, 2015 Ayotzinapa + 43

In Iguala, Guerrero, Mexico during the night of September 26, 2014, more the 100 students of the Rural Normal School of Ayotzinapa were attacked by local police forces. During this encounter, the police killed 3, injured more than 20, and kidnapped 43 students. The disappeared students have yet to be located. Student survivors Omar Garcia & Francisco Sanchez shared their story.

Tomas Fernandez Robaina is a researcher at la Biblioteca Nacional in Havana and a professor at the University of Havana, Tomás Fernandez Robaina is a prolific author on AfroCuban issues. He started writing in 1968 and in 1994 wrote El negro en Cuba 1902-1958: Apuntes para la historia de la lucha contra la discriminacion racial (The Blacks in Cuba 1902-1958: Notes on the history of the struggle against racial discimination). He is also Asesor of the Fundacion Ortiz and a member of UNEAC and of the Cuban National Comittee on Slave Routes.

Since the 2009 military coup, murders and attacks against Honduran human rights defenders have reached alarming levels. Indigenous communities, including the Garífuna, have been among those targeted. The U.S. continues to send tens of millions of dollars in Drug War aid to the Honduran police and military who have been involved in human rights abuses. Additionally, the U.S. backs neoliberal projects that lead to displacement and migration.

Alfredo López works with OFRANEH (the Black Fraternal Organization of Honduras) to protect and defend the Garífuna people's right to their culture and their ancestral land on the Caribbean coast. Lopez will discuss his people's struggle against the negative impacts of tourism and other mega-projects, and the role of state security forces-many of which receive funding from the U.S.-in their displacement. He will also describe how U.S.-backed projects and U.S. aid to the military and police contribute to violence and fuel Honduran migration.

Spring 2015 Lectures

Judge John Tunheim discussed his work on rule of law development projects in more than 15 countries around the world.

He worked in Kosovo helping the United Nations to re-establish and improve the legal system, and from 2007 to 2008 as a principal advisor in the development of the Kosovo Constitution. He is currently working on a team at the United Nations helping police, prosecutors and judges in Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Nepal, the Maldives and Singapore, to become fully prepared to handle terrorism cases fairly and effectively.

Fall 2014 Lectures

Carlos Oliva is a Professor of History, University of Havana. For many years he served as executive director of the Association for the Unity of Our America, an NGO based in Havana. He has also been a visiting professor at the University of Texas and John Hopkins University. He is the author, co-author, and editor of numerous books including The Bush Doctrine and Latin America and Panamericanism and Neo PanAmericanism: The View from Latin America.

Flowers are one of Colombia's biggest exports (with 76% imported to the US) - and a priority sector in the Labor Action Plan created as part of the US Free Trade Agreement. US consumers and tax payers have a direct relationship to Colombian flower growers, and this lecture will provide insight into the working conditions of laborers in Colombia.

The workers, 65% who are female, have few protections. They are often forced to take pregnancy tests and birth control to avoid the common birth defects.Workers are exposed to 127 different pesticides, 3 the World Health Organization has labeled as extremely toxic and 20% are known carcinogens or toxins and use is prohibited or restricted in the U.S.Pesticides are sometimes sprayed directly onto workers.During the busy season, workers can be forced to work 12-16 hour days, 6 days a week.

The speakers are involved in CACTUS which is a Colombian advocacy organization that encourages women flower workers to fight for their rights by offering legal advice and support programs. CACTUS supports the women in workers' rights movements, promotes participation in local decision-making processes and supports professional and organizational skill development.

Spring 2014 Lectures

Arnold August has an MA in political science from McGill University. He is an author, journalist and lecturer living in Montreal. He is the author of Democracy in Cuba and the 1997-98 Elections (Editorial José Martí). He has also contributed a chapter entitled "Socialism and Elections" for the volume Cuban Socialism in a New Century: Adversity, Survival and Renewal (University Press of Florida). His current book is entitled Cuba and Its Neighbours: Democracy in Motion (Fernwood Publishing and Zed Books). It will also be published in Spanish and French.

Dr. Fouzia Saeed, is a brave social activist who has repeatedly raised issues when it was not acceptable to talk about them. She is a social scientist with a PhD from the University of Minnesota, is the author of "Taboo! The Hidden Culture of a Red Light Area," based on 8 years of field research among prostitutes in Pakistan. Dr. Saeed returned to Pakistan to pursue a career in social change. She has worked for the United Nations and other international development organizations. Her main identity remains her activist work on women's issues, social justice and democracy. She is currently the Director of Mehergarh, a human rights institute. Dr. Saeed is well known in Pakistan's social movement, having worked for decades on women's issues especially those linked to violence against women, prostitution, women in the entertainment business, women's mobility and sexual harassment. Her work on violence against women spans over 20 years and includes founding the first women's crisis center in Pakistan in 1991. Her work has helped our society to recognize these issues, and others, by initiating open debate around them. Video of the lecture.

Coleen Rowley is a retired FBI agent and former Minneapolis Division Legal Counsel. In May of 2002 Rowley brought some of the pre 9-11 lapses to light and testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee about some of the endemic problems facing the FBI and the intelligence community. Rowley's memo to FBI Director Robert Mueller in connection with the Joint Intelligence Committee's Inquiry led to a two year long Department of Justice Inspector General investigation. In April 2003, following an unsuccessful and highly criticized attempt to warn the Director and other administration officials about the dangers of launching the invasion of Iraq, Rowley stepped down from her (GS-14) legal position to go back to being a (GS-13) FBI Special Agent. She retired from the FBI at the end of 2004. Rowley authored a chapter in a 2004 book published by the Milton Eisenhower Foundation entitled, Patriotism, Democracy and Common Sense: Restoring America's Promise at Home and Abroad and another chapter on civil liberties in the 2012 book Why Peace. Video of the lecture.

Fall 2013 Lectures

At the beginning of the 1990s, Brazil was described as having a "feckless" political system and an economy "drunk" on hyperinflation. By the mid-2000s, it was the 'B' in the BRICS. How did this turnaround happen? Is it real? Has Brazil become a serious country at long last? Prof. Alfred Montero argues that Brazil has secured a notable turnaround in political governance, economic management, and most impressively, in social indicators. But much more is left to do to improve the quality of democracy. The mass demonstrations that have plagued the Dilma Rousseff presidency's preparations for hosting the World Cup in 2014 are a reflection of a public that has grown frustrated with the pace of change and the priorities of public policy. Video of the lecture.

Militarization, fueled by over 1.1 billion in military aid from the U.S. and justified by the War on Drugs, has contributed to increased violence, political repression, and human rights violations in Mexico. The 2001 arrest of three Cerezo brothers for student activism provides one powerful example; they were incarcerated in federal prison for over seven years where they were physically and psychologically tortured. The Cerezo brothers were not alone. Over 900 individuals have been detained or persecuted for political reasons since 2000. Family members and allies, including brother Francisco Cerezo, formed Comite Cerezo in response. Video of the lecture.

John Keller has been the Executive Director of the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota since 2005. Prior to that, he was a staff attorney at ILCM from 1998 to 2004. Mr. Keller graduated Cum Laude from Hamline School of Law in 1996 and received his B.A. in Latin American Studies and Spanish from the University of Minnesota in 1992. After law school, Mr. Keller served as a Judicial Law Clerk at the Minnesota Court of Appeals (1997-1998). He also served as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Minnesota Immigration Clinic from 2004-06, and as Vice Chair of the Minnesota State Bar Immigration Chapter. Mr. Keller was named Attorney of the Year 2007 by Minnesota Lawyer, and received the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits 2007 Advocacy Award on behalf of ILCM for work he led in response to immigration raids in 2006. Video of the lecture.

Spring 2013 Lectures

March 7, 2013. Professor Noburo Noguchi, "Palestine and UNESCO: The Success & Consequences of Palestinian Membership in UNESCO." Professor Noguchi is currently serving as the Director-General of the National Federation of UNESCO Associations in Japan, and was the Vice-President and a Professor at the Bunkyo Gakuin University.

April 9, 2013. Jordan Ash, from the Jewish Voice for Peace on the Global Movement for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel.

Fall 2012 Lectures

September 18, 2012. Jason Lindsey, chair of the Political Science Department at St. Cloud State University spoke on "Putinism and Russia's Political Dead End" highlighting the ramifications of the recent concentration of political power in Russia in the hands of Vladimir Putin and his One Russia Party. Professor Lindsey received his M.A. and Ph.D. in political science from Columbia University and a certificate in Russian Area Studies from the Harriman Institute. He is the author of several articles on Russian affairs and a book, The Concealment of the State: Exposing and Challenging the Postmodern State. In spring semester 2013 he was a Fullbright Scholar at the National Law Academy in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Video of this lecture.

October 9, 2012. Professor Ragui Assaad, Professor of Public Affairs at the Humphrey Institute "Making Sense of Developments in Post-Revolution Egypt". Professor Assaad holds a Ph.D. degree in City and Regional Planning from Cornell University and a Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University. He is a non-resident senior fellow at the Global Economic and Development Program of the Brookings Institution (U.S.A.) and a Research Fellow of the Economic Research Forum (Egypt). He served as Regional Director for West Asia and North Africa for the Population Council, based in Cairo, Egypt, from 2005 to 2008. Video of this lecture.

Spring 2012 Lectures

March 14, 2012. Prof. Masako Tanaka presented on "Reconstruction efforts after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan." Professor Masako Tanaka is from Bunkyo Gakuin University, our partner institution in Tokyo, Japan. She is an expert on development assistance and has spent many years working in the development field in South Asia.

10/4/11: Dr. Mary West, Professor of Literature at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, "Welcome to South Africa: A Road Map to 'Race' in Words and Images." Tuesday, October 4, 7:30pm, Quad 264, SJU.Video of 10/4/11 presentation

10/19/11: Nancy Garcia, Center for the Orientation of Migrants (COMI), Oaxaca, Mexico presented "Railroaded by NAFTA/CAFTA: The Perilous Journey from Central America to the States" Wednesday, October 19 at 7:30pm in Quad 264, SJU. Co-sponsored with the Latino/Latin American Studies Program. Video of 10/19/11 presentation.

Fall 2010 Lectures

Dr. Rodney Cunningham, United States Foreign Service Officer and former Professor of Political Science at CSB/SJU "Understanding U.S. Foreign Policy: The African Context" September 22, 2010